Counts of Three
by Reizna
Summary: One is a greeting. Two shows growing interesting while three dances , by ancient courtly etiquette, means that the Queen have chosen. Too bad everyone figured it out before dance number three. Companion to White Lie.


_He clung to her, his hands at the curve of her hips and fingertips lightly caressing her lower back under her tank top, not wanting tomorrow to come when he kissed her. Sneaking into her room was hard enough. He'd have to enjoy very second he could have with her. Laying beneath her, he had let her take control for the moment._

_Fal'cie, he loved it when she did._

_Her left hand held his cheek, holding him right where she wanted him. Her other hand was pressed up against his chest, holding her up so she wouldn't collapse against him. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, her tips tickling his bare chest._

"_Nine." She pulled away, breaking her slow, calculated kiss. And she could have sworn she heard him growl. There was an expression of frustration on his face, but deep behind his eyes, a playful look._

"_Mm?" He asked._

_Grazing his forehead with her lips, she mumbled, "Stay with me tonight." _

_Leaving a kiss on her neck, he smirked, pulling her back down onto his lap so they were looking eye-to-eye. "On a Sunday night, Your Majesty? Isn't that pushing it?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Would you rather have me kick you out afterward?" _

"_No." He wrapped his arms around her waist, constricting her movement. "I love the time I get to spend with you."_

"_Now, you're being mushy." She said, breathing into his ear. A shiver ran down his spine when her warm breath made contact. He swore if she kept doing that, she'd drive him over the edge. _

"_Only because you make-" She didn't even let him finish his sentence._

"_You're staying tonight. That's an order."_

_Her fingertips ran over the scar she had given him. His hips grinded against hers, his lips crushing the base of her neck. He took over shortly after, rolling over so he was looking down at her, smirking. She rolled her eyes, propping herself up with her elbows. Tucking the loose strands behind her ear, he took her slowly, inhaling sharply. Her heart skipped a beat._

_Tension was beginning to rise as she began to move with him, syncing to his rhythm. With his every push, she pushed back against him, a growing pool of heat arising between them. With her every pull, he followed. Their faces met every time he buried himself in her. She kept stealing quick kisses until he had enough of that. _

_His lips lingered on hers, never leaving. The kisses started slow, predictable until she shifted and slipped her tongue into his. That was invitation enough. Needy and hot, their pace quickened as did the kisses. Running her hands all over him, she knew she needed more, a lot more than just that._

* * *

><p>It was the night of the annual ball, which held in honor of when Rubrum Peristylium Suzaku Magic Academy first opened its doors. All students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors were invited to attend. All the young men were dressed in tuxedos and cleaned up rather nicely. All the young ladies wore ball gowns.<p>

Many of them had arrived in the main foyer. Nine came alone; his escort had asked him to save a few dances for her. And frankly, he'd rather have _her_ beside him now. It was boring to stand beside Ace, Rem and Machina. He felt as though he and Ace were preventing Machina from _scoring_, but the words slipping through Machina's lips insisted that he and Rem were childhood friends. Nine knew a lie when he saw one. Childhood friends were not _that_ protective of one other.

With a bored expression and a hand to loosen his tie, he scanned the ballroom and found her, walking beside King. And fal'Cie, she was beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low bun, with a crystal hair clip keeping the bun in place. Her full-length, bright ivory gown was strapless, exposing those creamy shoulders he loved so much and its corset top hugged her figure nicely. Upon seeing her dress, he licked his lips. He had only caught a glimpse of the gown in her room, but hadn't actually seen her in the dress. And how he wanted to peel that dress off her that night.

Nine pulled himself from his reverie when he heard Rem gasp. "Queen is gorgeous."

"Can't judge a book by its cover." Ace remarked.

"Bet everyone's in awe." Machina nodded.

"And _that's_ our glasses-wearing Pres—wait, she doesn't have her glasses tonight." It was easy to slip back into his "idiot" persona as _she_ called it.

While Ace and Machina discussed Queen's transformation, Rem made a comment about her appearance with King, but Nine was hardly listening. _She_ had assured him that she was only walking with King as friends and solely because it was required of them, holding the ranks of Queen and King. Not that he was a jealous type, Nine rolled his eyes.

He was just following her plan. And then afterward, she'd have to follow his.

* * *

><p><em>They awoke for class the next morning, Queen clinging onto Nine for warmth, her arms wrapped around his chest and her petite body practically sprawled on top of him. His face was nuzzled in the crook of her neck, his lips pressing against one of her sensitive spots high on her neck, almost under her chin. His hands were placed on relatively neutral areas. Their legs tangled together under the sheets.<em>

"_Mm. Nine," She nudged him awake, her face buried in his soft, chocobo hair. "I figured it out."_

"_Wha?" He murmured, his tone sleepy. Nine kept his eyes closed, but he was awake. _

_She playfully smacked him on the bare chest as she untangled herself from his arms. Queen tugged at her blankets to cover her body, her sheets wrapping loosely around her figure. She held them over her breasts for decency as she looked down at Nine. "How we're going to tell them: the annual ball. This is what we're going to do."_

* * *

><p>Both the King and Queen of Class Zero fell into a simple waltz after they had made their presence known. Making their way around the ballroom, Queen couldn't help but let her thoughts drift elsewhere. King had noticed her spaced-out look, but mentioned nothing about it. Instead, he brought up a different topic.<p>

"You've caught everyone's attention." King remarked as he spun her. "You're not cheating, are you?"

It was often a joke among the other classes and the faculty that the royalty of Class Zero were secretly dating. And often, the two entertained themselves by going with it. Queen rolled her eyes. "You're not laying claim on me, are you?"

Because if King did, the entire situation with Nine would become complicated. Her thoughts went into overdrive mode. Her back slightly tensed, but her expression hardly changed.

Then, King smiled softly.

"It's just a jest, Queen."

Forcing a smile, she laughed nervously.

"Class Prez?" Nine's voice soothed her tension away. She didn't want King to figure it out before the elders did. King halted his waltz with her and stepped aside, bowing before departing.

"Nine." She gave him a curt nod as her new partner gave her a mock-bow. The formalities were only for show. They waltzed in silence for a few minutes. They had never done anything this public before. And they were nervous as the bystanders could tell when Nine stumbled. Falling back into step, a blush crossed Queen's cheeks as he squeezed her hand.

"Your Majesty, you seem to be getting a lot of attention from other people." He spoke, a hint of possessiveness evident in his tone. From afar, it would appear that the two were attempting to be civil just for show.

"Are you jealous?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe." Nine murmured as he twirled her.

"Excuse me, may I?" Another blond, Trey, had popped in. And Queen was too polite to deny him. She glanced over at Nine, who released her and bowed politely before departing. As Trey took Queen's hand into hers, the archer realized that her eyes were on the dragoon's retreating back. The look in her eyes was odd – something Trey had never seen on her when Nine was involved.

"I hope he didn't step on your feet, Queen." Her new partner joked as they began their dance.

"Not at all." She smiled slightly. And she found herself wanting to be in his arms again. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

><p>When Nine returned to the sidelines, she had already finished her waltz with Trey and was currently dancing with Ace. King was off with Sice somewhere near Queen and Ace. Trey had Cinque on his arm, laughing and shyly flirting with her. Cater and Deuce were speaking with Eight around the refreshment table. Machina had yet to ask Rem to dance.<p>

Nine hated being a cockblock, but it looked like Machina was not going to ask Rem anytime soon. And they all called Nine an idiot.

As he approached the duo, Rem's expression lit up. "So how was the dance with Her Highness?"

"It was fine." Nine answered diplomatically.

Machina cocked an eyebrow. "You two weren't trying to kill each other for once."

"Just for tonight." _Liar_, his mind whispered. He placed his hand over his eyes as he shook his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to blow it. He had to stick to their plan. She had to dance with everyone before he could go up to her again.

However, it was something Rem said that forced him into action.

"Oh, look!" She pointed to the dance floor. "Naghi's going in for the kill."

Nine lifted his gaze and didn't like what he was seeing.

Oh Etro.

No.

Naghi was going for Queen.

Nine needed to step up the game.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, so how was that for a first chapter? I'm back with another 9Q piece, dedicated to my tumblr twin Ventus Phoenix (skyress) and all 9Q shippers. I won't be leaving you all hanging for very long. I hope you guys enjoyed it.<strong>


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